Lullaby
by Jademagic
Summary: Beast Boy won't talk to anyone but Raven, Cyborg's about to go off the deep end, Robin's getting frustrated, Starfire's helpless, and the one person at the center of all of the problems can't be reached. But that's about to be the least of their problems
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…if I did, this would be an episode…

A/N: When I put the other story back up, hopefully, it'll make more sense after having read this one since it comes first. I guess it contains 'spoilers' to 'Betrayal' and 'Aftershock', but since the only thing I know about the episodes as of yet are from things I've read, I'm not too sure how accurate it is…

* * *

**Lost**

* * *

The moon played over the water, its reflection in the gentle ripples offering comfort and tranquility. Stars, surrounding the bright, glowing orb up in the sky glinted consolingly.

He knew he shouldn't have been out there; Robin had them on a strict curfew, which he was currently breaking by more than a few hours, but that couldn't helped; he needed to be out there, on the rocks and the water and under the moon. They might have thought he was bad off now, but if he didn't manage to get out and have these few moments of peace, he'd be much worse. (There was a morbid laugh due in there somewhere.)

Not that the tower was never peaceful. No, the tower had been unusually calmer than it once was for the past few years.

This, whatever it was, had nothing to do with Tower, and everything to do with the tower. And the people within.

And that was the whole truth, though he couldn't explain it.

He sighed, stared blankly at the city lights on the shore, their reflection dim from where he sat compared to the moon, higher up than he could hope to reach, and he admitted it was mockinghim.

Nature's beauty, he'd decided on the tails of being lost between immaturity and responsibility with Vic and Raven and Dick and Kori, was in the moon and all that it lit with pale silver light. It was calming, and reassuring, and beautiful beyond words' description, and he absolutely loathed it.

'Tara' was sitting under the moon, laughing, giggling beside him in that cute little way she did, her eyes wide and shining. 'Tara' was the nights that she'd have shivering, hot, too real nightmares and sleep was out of the question and he'd find her on the water because it calmed it her.

'Tara' was the nights she'd tell him stories about the places she'd been, the things she'd seen, the adventures she'd had, and he'd take her in his arms when the stories turned unpleasant.

'Tara' was the nights she'd taught (outright 'helped') him how to skip a rock right across the water surrounding the island and to the shore on the other side and he'd tell her about his favorite consolations in the sky and surprise them both because even though he'd collected the knowledge randomly over the years out of curiosity, he had no idea it was so extensive.

'Tara' was the nights she'd confess she couldn't control her powers and he swore not to tell. (He didn't realize then he hadn't meant the thing about her powers, and funny how the promise he never made was the only one he never broke.)

But Robin had figured it out anyways. She'd blamed him and left.

She came back about a month later, and they'd been happy. She'd shown him how to skip a rock on his own, and things had been good until she betrayed them.

She'd been…_spying_ on them, the whole time. The whole time she'd been with them. The whole time they'd been together.

He'd –they'd forgiven her, but she didn't know, and they weren't going to be able to tell her anytime soon.

With a sigh, Beast Boy stood, a small stone in his hand.

Drawing back, he closed his eyes and her face swam into his view. Yelling, he tossed the stone at the water.

It hit, distorting the reflections briefly, and sank.

* * *

"Come on, BB!" Cyborg tried again, waving a pan full of something under the changeling's nose. "It's breakfast, and look! I'll even let you have your fake meat!" Cyborg beamed brightly, but Beast Boy just slumped down even further in his seat. Cyborg's face fell as he stared at Beast Boy, who sighed dejectedly. He began muttering as he walked off and Starfire took his place.

Her hands behind her back she smiled, "You are depressed and this is unacceptable. No friend of mine shall be unhappy. Here!" She brought her hands from behind her back, clutching a large bowl of an unidentifiable substance. "It is a Custard of Quail; you must feel better! Eat, my friend!" She pulled a spoon from nowhere and scooped a wiggling chunk onto it. She held it out to Beast Boy. His gaze shifted to the widely smiling Starfire; he didn't open his mouth, and he didn't move other than to stare off again.

"Starfire," Raven called and looked up from where she quietly sipped her tea. "I don't think you're helping."

"I'm not?" Starfire frowned slightly and lowered the spoon.

"No."

"….Oh." Starfire moved away from Beast Boy, who blinked.

They sat in silence, the only sound that of the clock ticking and Raven sipping her tea.

With a roll of her eyes, Raven put her tea down and walked over to Beast Boy. She down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you miss her. We all do," She looked down and clenched her hand. "But it's been years. You need to get over it. Move on with your life, or…."

Beast Boy's gaze slipped from its non-existent focus and lingered over her, but she didn't continue. Cyborg turned back to breakfast meat buffet, Robin to his newspaper, and Starfire to whatever it was she had called the colorless slime sitting on her plate.

"….'Or'?"

Raven removed her hand and got up to leave, pulling her hood back up as she swept pass Cyborg.

Robin and Starfire watched her pause at the doorway.

"You'll miss something you'll regret. That's all."

She disappeared down the dark hall, and they were left in silence again.

Beast Boy returned to staring blankly out of a window. Starfire finished her breakfast, keeping a close eye on him, and Robin went back to his newspaper.

Without warning, Beast Boy stood up and walked toward the exit. The door sliding closed behind him.

Starfire stared after him momentarily as if debating on whether or not to follow him, but didn't make any move to do so, and Robin merely turned the page.

"Isn't anyone going to go after him?" Cyborg finally questioned.

"Why?"

"'Why?'" Cyborg echoed Robin. "Because he's our friend!"

"Exactly," Robin replied calmly. "He's our friend, and the least we can do is give him the privacy he deserves; when he wants to talk, he will. Until then…what kind of friends would we be if we were to try and force him to get over something he needs to deal with himself against his will?"

"Good friends!" Cyborg nearly yelled, slamming his hands down on the table.

"Cyborg, look, he wants time to think this out on his own –".

"He's had three years dealing with this on his own! We're his _friends_. Or at least I am." Cyborg crossed his arms, and Robin finally looked up at him.

"I _am_ –"

"I don't want to hear it," he growled.

Glowering at Robin, Cyborg walked off toward the exit. Glaring out of the corner of his eye, he waited for the doors to open, then disappeared through them in much the same manner as Beast Boy.

Robin turned to the next page of his paper.

* * *

"Beginning countdown," Robin called over the intercom, and Beast Boy and Raven went into 'ready' position at the start line. Cyborg stood somewhat grumpily to the side, his arms crossed across his massive chest.

"I'm depending on you," Raven reminded Beast Boy as she tugged pointedly at the chain connecting them and secured the blindfold over her eyes. Beast Boy grunted in response.

The numbers on the control booth lit up and began to tick away.

_10…9…8…7…6…5...4…3…2…1…GO!_

As the blue letters lit up, Raven and Beast Boy took off, Beast Boy in the lead. Five seconds in, as Raven's boots skipped over the ground behind Beast Boy's, a thin, square portion of the ground rose. The laser mounted to its underside took aim.

Beast Boy startled as a shot sailed past the tip of his ear and with a leaping step, turned into a hawk, falling behind Raven to lift her in his talons. Training that rarely shined through the comic demeanor taking over, he turned the lasers on each other.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Raven murmured.

Beast Boy cawed in apology, as he sailed upward and dropped her, changing easily back into himself and catching her a moment before he landed on the ground. Releasing her from his arms, he took a moment to steady himself. He ran without glancing back, pushing himself faster, and Raven had a hard time not yelling at him to slow down.

Smirking slightly, Robin adjusted the level set on the controls, and the ground beneath Beast Boy and Raven's feet all of a second ago dropped from sight. Portions of the ground before them followed, and he stopped short in his sprint, giving time for the ground beneath his partner began to crumble into non-existence.

Raven felt the urge to use her powers, but suddenly found Beast Boy's hand gripping hers. With a little effort, he hauled her back up and onto the ground beside him. Starfire cheered for his rescue, and Robin nodded in approval.

Beast Boy grabbed Raven securely, and leaped toward a portion of the ground still intact as the rocky ground they'd been standing disintegrated. Three expertly timed leaps later found Beast Boy and Raven on solid, un-disintegrating ground. Without a word, he let go of her waist and stepped away. Beast Boy tugged the chain connecting them, then set off again, moving faster over the hilly terrain they now had to conquer only to come to a screeching halt as he narrowly avoided having the tip of his nose being disconnected from the rest of his face at the hands of the blade swinging before him.

"Wait!" he snarled, throwing out a hand to halt Raven's progress. "Swinging blades; three sec interval, two yards between. Five of them."

Under the blindfold, Raven raised an eyebrow; he'd sooner be hit by one while favoring a joke than assess their movements.

"On my count, then," he mumbled, watching the blades lazily. With a slight tug, Raven was pulled along 'red-light-green-light' style until they'd made it past all of the blades.

"Yay!" Starfire shrieked and rocketed into the air and was almost harshly tugged back down to earth by the chain, one end still connected firmly to the unmoving Cyborg. She continued to cheer, and as Beast Boy and Raven neared the finish line, Robin joined in.

"Almost there?" Raven called exasperatedly from behind him.

"Almost there," he nodded, continuing to sprint. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, veering sharply to avoid the very solid looking walls that appeared before them without warning.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire gasped as the pair stumbled across, and Beast Boy glanced over to her in confusion, finally looked back to see Raven frantically untying her blindfold and forcing a scream of pain back down her throat. Robin sprinted down from the control center and raced out to them.

Starfire, who wasn't far behind, suddenly found herself being dragged out to her teammates by a charging Cyborg.

"Raven, are you ok?" rang Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg's voices as one.

Raven looked up from where she was surveying the damage to her leg, screaming internally.

"I'll live," she replied dead-pan.

"You should at least let me look at that and make sure the damage…"

"I said I'll live, Robin," Raven interrupted her teammate. "Now would somebody mind taking this off?" She held up the chain, and Cyborg removed it from her belt.

"Thank you," mumbled Raven, and slightly limped back up the entrance of the Tower, ignoring the looks the others were giving her.

"Does this mean that training is over?" Starfire asked as Beast Boy removed the chain from his belt and threw it down. He transformed into a hawk and was in the air a second later, zooming toward the roof of the Tower.

"I don't know; that depends on whether or not you feel like running the course, I guess," Robin rubbed the back of his neck and stared after him. Cyborg removed the chain connecting him and Starfire.

"Y'all go on up. I'll shut everything down here down."

"You sure, Cyborg? I don't regularly excuse anyone from a training exercise."

"Yeah man; I've got it." Cyborg forced a smile and jogged up to the controls before another protest could arise. He shut down the system and stood in silence over the control panel.

As he watched Starfire and Robin make their way back up the tower, he mused absently whether or not he was finally going off the deep end. Cyborg shook his head to clear it and sprinted from the control center and to the tower, silently urging the elevator to move faster.

He decided to get something from the kitchen as he slid through the doors of the common area, but was halted.

Robin was flipping nonchalantly through numerous TV channels, and Starfire was rattling away in his ear.

No surprise there.

The surprise was on the horseshoe couch where Beast Boy was tentatively holding ice to Raven's knee.

And talking.

Not in his usual non-stop-humorist kind of way, but quietly, and sincerely, as if whatever he was discussing held relativity to something worthwhile, and Raven was listening.

"I'll be in my room." Cyborg wandered off in said direction.

* * *

"Ok, Robin," Cyborg grumped as he fell into his chair at the Titans'conference table. "What was so important that we absolutely had to have an emergency meeting?"

"Yes, Robin; what is the dreadful emergency that we must take care of?" Starfire stared up at Robin from her seat to his immediate right.

"Well?" Raven turned to where the Boy Wonder stood at the head of the table, too. "And why isn't Beast Boy here?"

"Well, the meeting's kind of about him," Robin grabbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure how we should start this off…"

"Beast Boy?" Starfire's eyes widened in alarm. "Is he ill? Is there something wrong with him? Is someone after him? Is there something we can do? Will he –"

"Star!" Robin held up a hand to halt her, and her mouth immediately closed. "Calm down, ok? Look," he sighed as he took his seat again. "It's come to my attention…that our friend, Beast Boy... hasn't been himself, lately."

"Of course he has not been himself," Starfire said, he face dropping. "_None _of us have been ourselves."

"And that's completely acceptable, considering" Raven interrupted. "But while the rest of us have accepted it and moved on with our lives….Beast Boy hasn't. And it is interfering with his duty, and more importantly, his life in general."

Starfire nodded her head hesitantly to show understanding.

"He's been slacking off, and he's really falling." Robin glanced pointedly at Raven's leg, then seemed to think better of it as he cleared his throat, and his tone softened.

"I'm just worried about him. I'm afraid Beast Boy might hurt himself, or someone else if he carries on like this. He's never well-rested, he isn't eating well, and he's pushing himself entirely too hard for the level of health he's taken to maintaining. He's become a liability to himself. And the team." Starfire didn't catch the words along his undertone, bobbed her head in agreement, but Cyborg looked up at him sharply, stood, and turned on Robin.

"I see where this is going," he said, voice lower and calmer than he thought was at all reasonable. "You don't really care what he's going through at all, do you?"

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop accusing me of such absurdities," Robin replied levelly, but without facing him. Cyborg stepped closer.

"Yeah; that's it. You don't care that BB's hurting," Cyborg continued, his voice raising as he pointed accusingly at him. "The only thing you care about is this so-called 'team'. That and getting to Star, that is –"

"That's not true!" Robin yelled uncharacteristically loudly, standing from his chair and pounding his fist on the table. "This team is –"

Cyborg towered almost comically over Robin. "If this were a team, you'd care about every other member of this team and what happens to them. Not because you're worried about how well the team will perform, but because what affects one of us affects all of us emotionally, physically, and mentally. But nobody gives a damn, not really. That's what started this whole mess in the first place." Robin, already disadvantaged to the towering Cyborg, seemed to shrink under his gaze.

"You couldn't understand BB even if you wanted to, and for the record, you obviously don't. You don't know what it's like to love somebody and not be _able_ to tell them how you feel. You're just _dense_."

"And you do?" Robin shot back, clenching his teeth and his fists.

The anger in Cyborg's eyes suddenly disappeared, and he retreated slightly before Robin could determine what had replaced it.

"I'm done with this." Cyborg backpedaled and stalked out of the room, the heavy clanking of his feet on the floor echoing into the room fainter and fainter as he moved away from them.

Robin breathed heavily as he fell back into his chair, and the room was filled with silence as Starfire gazed slightly frightened at Robin.

"Well, that went well," Raven commented dryly.

Starfire and Raven both looked expectantly at Robin, his eyes closed as he leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Meeting adjourned."

* * *

Starfire awoke with a startled gasp, clutching her sheets to her as she hovered over her bed.

The moonlight continued to wash in over her and the fluffy carpet of her floor.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed quietly in her room, the squeak repeating itself.

Her large emerald eyes darted back and forth quickly as hair on the back of her neck began to stand on end, and her skin began to crawl.

She turned quickly in the direction of her door as she heard quick footsteps. She _thought_ she heard quick footsteps, she quickly corrected herself in accordance with the resident law of the borderline insane. It was probably just a trick of the night.

"Beast Boy, if that is you and you are playing a trick, I do not find it very amusing," she tried sternly, but her voice still ended up an octave higher than normal.

When no reply came, she was unsure whether she should find reassurance that Beast Boy had listened…or if she should be more terrified because the lack of reply was due to the fact that whatever it was wasn't Beast Boy, or a friend at all.

"This is not funny, and therefore, not a joke!" she screeched toward the door. Should she call for help? Would the others even hear her? They had yet to give any indication that they'd heard her previous exclamations.

She squeaked again as she thought she saw movement to the side near her dresser. Mind made up, she rocketed to her bedroom door, eyes closed and hands outreached. She slammed into the button beside her door. It slid open, and she floated in the middle of the hall. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and screamed.

In his room, Robin's half closed eyes snapped completely open. Jumping up from his workbench and scattering stacks of important papers, he stumbled across the messy archive that was his room, grabbing his mask and putting it on as he reached the door. He pushed the button beside the door and barely waited for it to open before he had sprinted into the hallways, searching frantically for the problem.

Starfire was still screeching as Raven stuck her head out the door, Cyborg blearily stepped out and yawned, and a sloth came stumbling around the corner at the other end of the hallway, promptly transforming into a stretching Beast Boy.

"What's going on?" he questioned sleepily and without emotion.

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed as he leaned into his room to check the time. "It's….2:30 in the morning. Normal people usually _sleep_ then."

Raven used her powers to shut Starfire's mouth, her scream over their voices effectively silenced.

Opening her eyes, Starfire calmed down slightly and landed back on the ground.

"Without screaming, what is the problem?" Raven asked, monotone as always.

"There's something in my room!" Starfire yelped. "And I did _not _invite whatever it is in!"

The others stared blankly at her.

"Star," Robin began, coming to stand beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder, "that's impossible; there's no way for anything to get into the tower. It would have to know exactly how to shut down the defense system. You know that."

"Yes, but that does not change the fact that there is something in my room!"

Sighing, Cyborg stepped back into his room, then reappeared, snapping the last layer of his titanium outing on over the smooth black metal of his arm.

"Well then, we'll just have to exterminate the little pest, won't we?"

Raven exited the doorway of her room and stood beside Starfire. "If you say there's something, we'll check."

"Thank you!" Starfire exclaimed, grabbing Raven in a hug, despite her protests.

Slowly, the door to Starfire's room creaked open, and the Titans' head poked around the door.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, throwing the room into darkness as the five of them quickly skimmed the room.

"Well, no big creepy crawlies in here," Cyborg announced. "Does that mean we can go back to bed now?"

They began to back away from the door, when Robin suddenly stopped them.

"What the…?" he queried, his eyes widening under his mask as the room was illuminated with moonlight again, and four sets of eyes swiveled back, following his gaze.

Starfire's room had been torn apart, her possessions scattered over the room as if someone or something had searched it.

Beast Boy wiped blearily at his eyes. "I'll take first shift, then."


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer:…Yeah, I still don't think I own anything….

* * *

**Offering**

**

* * *

**

"What's wrong?"

Raven looked up and raised an eyebrow in question. "What makes you think something is wrong? I'm perfectly fine."

"Uh-huh." Cyborg nodded. "Which is why your tea's spilling over."

She turned back to her cup and realized that her tea was indeed spilling over. Releasing the teapot from her powers, she levitated a few paper towels over to clean up the mess on the counter. Raven cautiously picked up her tea, careful not to let it slosh over the side, and scowled at Cy.

"Well?"

"I took last shift." The part where she didn't sleep hung between them tangibly.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Raven narrowed her eyes and sipped her tea. "I already told you; nothing's wrong."

"What, so now you can only talk to one person, too?" She looked up sharply to see his previous smirk replaced by a frown. "We're _all _friends; you know that. You and Gar, you're important to me, and right now, something's seriously wrong with both of you, and neither of you want to talk about it with anyone except each other, and I _know_ you guys realize that's not the way _we _do things. What's going on with you, Rae?"

There was a moment of uneasy silence Cyborg wasn't used to before she replied, "I'm worried about him, too."

He stared silently across the table at her. "…Do you think we really _should _be worried?"

"I'm not sure," Raven admitted. "I mean, in all the time I've spent with him…it really only seems like he needs a friend; someone to fall back on right now."

"But we _are_ his friends." Cyborg's vice lowered almost mournfully. "I'm his friend, and you're his friend. And we've been there for him, every step of the way. I _thought _we were doing a pretty damn good job."

Raven glanced down.

"Maybe _you_ should talk to him."

"How? I mean, he's not talking to anyone except for you." Cyborg pushed his chair back from the table, causing Raven to look up at him.

Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe that's because you _haven't _talked to him in ages."

Cyborg shifted in his seat, but didn't say a word.

"Don't friends usually talk to each other on a regular basis?"

"And just when would I have the chance, seeing as how he's always under you?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Cyborg snapped and stood up from his seat. "You two have been practically glued together for these last few weeks."

"I'm trying to be a good friend by being there for him; like you said, remember?" Raven's voice began to rise slightly and the cup she'd been drinking from began to tremble as she clenched her hands in her lap.

"Yeah; some friend. 'Friend with benefits', maybe."

Cyborg suddenly found Raven's face, eyes glowing angrily, mere centimeters from his own.

"Don't_ –ever –_accuseme of somethinglikethatagain."

Cyborg tried to back up, but found that he couldn't move from her gaze.

"_Ever."_

Her glare melted through him, and he narrowed his own eyes, but still found every muscle in his being refused to cooperate with his will.

Raven moved to push pass him, brushing against him angrily, but she was halted, her mind falling into a flurry of strange visions.

_"I'm sorry…"_

_"He's a human being! He's done nothing wrong!"_

_A cry. A …baby's?_

_"Don't…"_

_"…He's the sacrifice! Him and him alone!"_

_Beast Boy…tears trailing along his cheeks._

_"You're wrong!"_

_"It's the only way!"_

_"… do it!"_

_"Some father!" _

_"Cold-blooded killers!"_

_Cyborg…Starfire and Robin were holding him back as he screamed._

_"Over my dead body!"_

_"Damn it, he's _my_ son!"_

_"He has to…"_

_"He was _born_ to be the sacrifice!"_

_Cyborg's face, contorted in pain as Robin yelled over the increasing wails in the background._

_"You think this isn't hard enough?"_

_"I _am_! You're the one who isn't!"_

_"You're murderers…"_

_"You're right."_

_"You're supposed to be a friend!"_

_…..and the baby just kept crying over their screams…_

_"I don't want to do this either!"_

_"…. die!"_

_"And hundreds of others!"_

_"It's _my_ decision!"_

_"Every last one of you!"_

_"So we trade his life for our own?"_

_"….all of you!"_

_"There has to be another way!"_

_"Stop it! Stop it…"_

_Lightning lit the sky out side, and an earth shattering roll of thunder exploded._

"Raven?"

"Stop!" Raven screamed as she fell forward and into Cyborg's chest.

"Rae?" He gently pushed her fallen locks out of her face as he cradled her in his arms.

"Rae? Rae!"

* * *

Raven blinked blearily as a dark blob slowly swam into view.

A dark blob? The ceiling. It was just the ceiling.

But what was she doing looking at the ceiling?

"Raven?"

She groaned and turned to her side, letting her eyes slip closed again.

"Raven, are you ok?"

The voice was distorted, and sounded as if it came through a great distance before it reached her. She fought to open her eyes, but her heavy lids refused to cooperate.

_But the voice sounds so familiar,_ something in her subconscious nearly whined in frustration With as much strength as she could muster, she forced her violet eyes open. Blearily, two mismatched eyes suddenly flooded with relief swam into view.

"Thank God," their owner breathed shakily. She tried to open her lips and speak, but found that both were difficult as her mouth was dry, and her throat ached.

Something cool was pressed to her lips, and a second later, a cold liquid was fleeing down her throat. She sighed in gratefulness.

"…Cy?"

"You all right, Raven?" She blinked a few times.

"Where….?"

"Med lab; something freaky happened." He again sighed deeply, moving out of her line of vision as he stepped backward and stood. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Doing when?" she questioned, quickly regaining her ability to speak.

Somebody cleared their throat. "Cyborg says you two were having a fight?"

Raven didn't turn, but she did find the strength to roll her eyes at Robin. "Well, there's something out of the ordinary."

She felt him frown. "Raven, this is serious; whatever happened could have been –"

"Look, you kind of…" Cyborg cast an embarrassed glance to Robin. With barely a lingering glance of question, Robin refocused his attention to Cyborg as he continued, "You touched me, so… I don't know. You had a vision?"

"…Yes." Raven shifted uncomfortably.

"You tried to stop it," he softly added after a moment.

Only Raven heard him as Starfire hovered over the side Raven faced, lowering herself to her knees as she stared wide-eyed at her. "Was it terrifying?" Her purple eyes slid away from Starfire's emerald gaze.

"I just went a little over my limit." She smiled at Starfire. "Give me a few moments, and I'll join you guys down on the practice field."

"No." Robin firmly shook his head. "You need to stay here. We don't know that there isn't something seriously wrong with you."

"I'm telling you, I –"

"You're not going to leave this room." He folded his arms over his chest. "Not until Cyborg gives you the all-clear. That's the bottom line."

She glared, but he was already leaving the room, Starfire behind him. Raven sighed in frustration as she shifted in the bed, unable to get comfortable, and finally, she simply sat up. Silence reigned over the room, interrupted only by the constant beeping of the machines that filled the room.

"Can I at least take out this I.V.?" she asked. "I kind of –"

"Hate needles; I know," Cyborg nodded, moving back to her side and gently taking the offered arm. He removed the needle delicately and turned off the machine, but didn't move from the bedside or drop her hand.

"Do I have to stay here?"

"If it's nothing too serious, I can let you go back to your room, but you'd have to promise to stay there for a little while..."

She shook her head. "I don't like being trapped."

"You wouldn't be trapped."

"You're saying that I wouldn't be able to leave my room. How is that not trapped?"

"You stay there half the time as it is," he countered pointedly.

"But I can leave if I want. And I'm not always in my room. Things are different from what they used to be." She still didn't turn to face him, and idly, he wondered why it bothered him. "I don't like being caged, Vic."

"I can't promise…" Cyborg looked down at his feet, his grip on her cold hand tightening without him actually noticing it. "Damn it, Rae…you scared me. You really scared me." He let her hand slip from his, and then walked back to the computer.

"I'll do what I can."

Beast Boy silently slinked away from the doorway, guiltily disgruntled.

What did he _want_? She'd just regained consciousness, and he expected the only thing on her mind to be him? Something had gone wrong; very wrong, and he'd actually thought she'd be worried about him and him alone?

He slipped by the elevator as the doors closed on Robin and Starfire much the same as he'd slipped out of the room earlier, without either casting him so much as a glance.

He'd been just as worried as Robin and Starfire when Cyborg had called them in the middle of a sparring session; more so, if it came down to the truth of it.

Could they blame him?

Robin hadn't wanted him to come down to the med-level in the first place, had even tried to physically prevent him from leaving the room, but he'd gotten out anyway, gone down with them, frowning angrily as his heartbeat rapidly sped up; he'd have to remind himself in the future to maybe consider listening to him.

And none of that mattered. Not really.

As long as she was ok; that's all he'd needed to know.

And there was time for things that didn't really matter later.

* * *

"…Victor? ...Victor? ...Victor!"

Cyborg's head snapped up.

From the tone of his voice and the look on the British man's face, he'd been trying to get his attention for quite some time.

"Sorry, Alfred," Cyborg apologized. "Where were we?"

"Master Victor, I'm beginning to become concerned." The elderly man's forehead wrinkled with unease. "Is everything all right there?"

"Yeah," he answered quickly.

"…I've noticed the same abnormal lack of attention and willingness with lessons in Masters Garfield and Richard as well as Miss Raven and Miss Kori. Are you quite sure you are all ok?"

"Yeah," he smiled weakly. "There's just been …a lot going on. That's all."

Before him, the worried face's frown seemed to deepen as his small eyes drilled into him questioningly with heated intensity. "… If you need a break…"

"No," Cyborg interrupted him. "It's not interfering with my instructions."

"Master Victor, that's not the type of break I meant. Need I remind you that the Master's offer is still open?"

"Yeah… I know." Cyborg leaned back into the couch he sat upon. The silence in the room became painfully deafening.

"You're welcome anytime; we'd be more than delighted to have you. It might even be just what you need. Obviously, you're much further along in your studies than most your age. One of these days, I'm sure I will have to ask Master J'onn to step in fully."

"Sometimes, Alfred, I wonder if there's really anything you don't know." But he didn't chuckle because he couldn't and was instead squirming under Alfred's continued gaze.

"I am an old man and have forgotten much of the little I once knew, Master Victor. I fear you have lost touch with other aspects," he replied, then stiffened as a thought seemed to occur to him. "I can assure you that were you to take the Master up on his offer, you could continue with your studies. There are resources here you could access from few other places in the world or positions in life that I'm sure you'd find most valuable."

Cyborg managed a half-hearted smile. "With the collective knowledge of the finest minds of galaxies uncharted by the most blatantly ignorant and advanced researchers, what more could I ask for?"

Alfred didn't speak for a moment as he leaned back from the screen. "You sound so amazingly like him, thinking you need nothing more than knowledge, skill, and the will to fight."

"He has Robin; he has you. He's rich. He's popular. Last I heard, he had a girlfriend, and could still have his pick of women. What else _does_ he need?"

Alfred remained quiet a few moments before he lowered his voice in something Cyborg would have labeled as frustration if he didn't know such emotion was reserved exclusively for the Batclan. "I've no idea how many times I've tried to convince the boy the one thing he's lacking is understanding of himself."

Cyborg frowned. "'Boy'?"

"When you get to be my age, Master Victor, _everyone_ is a child in comparison." He smiled warmly. "I shall see you again on Thursday. Homework: rest well. And… consider the offer."

"Yes, sir." The large screen before him flickered off, and the warming image of the smiling Alfred vanished with it. He dropped the pencil in his hand to the table, let it roll off the edge and fall to an open book at his feet as he cradled his head in his hands.

There _had_ been a lot going on, even if he dismissed last week's episode with… Well. He didn't really want to get into that again.

The same thing had already been…. preoccupying was the wrong word. But it had undoubtedly been hanging there, right in the darkest corner of his mind for too long to be healthy.

He wasn't sure when it had started. He'd say it was about the same time… they'd lost Terra. And wasn't that just so fitting how every problem they were caught in the middle of seemed to go back to her now?

Not _all _their problems, obviously; Terra had never really been at the root of their Slade problem, with all due deference to her time spent as his minion.

He couldn't exactly pin down all the trouble Raven had found herself in to Terra either, though he could admit that they often went at it, and yeah, he had found that slightly amusing, and as a guy, slightly alluring.

Robin and Starfire being happy together didn't have anything to do with Terra. And now that he thought about it, Robin and Starfire weren't exactly 'together' in the sense most people would take it, as in, the two (or at least Robin) were dealing with serious cases of unresolved tension and weren't 'going-out' or even really making any extra effort to spend extended periods of time together alone, and admittedly, had he not known the way members of the Batclan's minds really worked and merely witnessed the two around each other for a set period of time, he would have added 'sexual' between 'unresolved' and 'tension'; but of course, Cyborg knew at least Robin didn't think like that, he really hadn't personally talked with the Batman to interrogate him on such grounds to come to any conclusion dealing with his and his family's mindsets on a whole, Starfire wouldn't understand a word coming out of his mouth if he'd made any of his musings verbal anyway, and just when did start he viewing Robin and Starfire being happy together so wrong?

(Sudden jealousy directed to those who were happy together: not associated with Terra. As far as he could tell. As of yet.)

He needed an excuse to blame this sudden obsession on, reluctant as he was to use an innocent (according to his terms after he'd analyzed each new situation that proved taxing and usually impairing to their already compromised emotional status) as a scapegoat, and now he was just confusing himself, which he found was happening more and more often. And all other questionable reasoning aside, he still had a problem because truthfully, herein came the only problem he could possibly see leading to Terra as a possible contributing factor.

Cyborg had teased Beast Boy about his constant chasing around after her with that dopey 'kicked-puppy' look, but… he'd thought it was just BB being BB again. He hadn't noticed, or had refused to notice, how real his feelings for her had been until he'd witnessed the marked difference in his attitude after they lost her. He'd joked just a little bit more than was normal for him at first, his temper becoming so easily ignited later, and now he simply withdrew from them all. Though it'd been… depressing for Cyborg when BB had changed (because truthfully, he was sure they'd all have gone crazy a long time ago if it hadn't been for the numbskull), that wasn't the part that confused him.

What _did _confuse him was why he'd worked so hard not to notice BB acting the same way all those years around Raven, and why when it managed to slip into his conscious mind, he panicked and buried it under certifiable thought patterns that had his usual 'sanity saving' defenses scrambling and the place for anything else ceased to exist.

Cyborg shook his head, standing as he heard the entrance doors slide open. Raven entered, gazing intently at the pile of mail she held in her hands. She paused suddenly, looking up slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry; are you finished, yet? ...With Alfred…?" she added as Cyborg looked at her in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "It_ is_ one of your days… right?"

"Uh… yeah," Cyborg frowned. "That the mail? Something for me?"

"If you mean something from Bumblebee, no," Raven shrugged, dropping the mail on the kitchen counter as his mouth opened and he frowned slightly in surprise. "Why would you send her a letter? You two talk all the time."

He froze for a moment, considering the opportunity of fixing the entire mess he'd found himself trapped in that he was being presented.

"It's… personal," he offered, turning and stiffly brushed past her and to the still open doors.

Raven watched him, frowning as her gaze fell from the closing doors before she slipped into the dark engulfing the hall, making her way toward her room.

As he froze behind the now closed doors, he tried to inhale, pacified that it was no business of hers that he'd had actually had to gather and organize something he'd wanted to discuss with Bumble over a period of weeks, hadn't spoken to her for a fortnight, though it was a practice they'd picked up a short time after they'd first fallen into the acquaintance bracket and had carried through confidant after she'd moved east with the new team and he'd returned home.

The knotted pain in his stomach acquiesced mockingly.

* * *

Raven coughed harshly as she waved away the thick blue smoke hovering around her. She stared bitterly at the small pot she sat before. The sickly yellow surface bubbled slightly as if ridiculing her once the smoke finally cleared. Frowning, she held out her hand, and a black cloud enshrouded her bookcase, focusing in on a large, brown book. It hovered from its place and into her outreached hand. Quickly, she flipped through the brittle, yellowed pages, her expression falling as she slammed it closed and tossed it. It landed in a cloud of dust that settled among the pile of others that had proved equally as useless to her.

Dejectedly, she turned her gaze back to the now milky white substance occupying the little black pot. Her eyes slipped closed and she sighed.

"…Why am I doing this?" she questioned herself yet again.

A knock sounded at her door, and she swept a hand through her purple locks. She didn't answer.

"…Rae?" The meek voice was barely loud enough to reach her ears from the other side of the thick steel door to her room. A few more moments passed before it came again, louder. "Raven?"

She still didn't answer.

"…Come on Rae, it's just me."

Hanging her head, she made a gesture with her hand, and the door glowed black before sliding open and allowing her visitor to enter. He slowly walked to the edge of the bed which she sat in the middle of.

"What are you…" he began, stopping as he caught sight of the numerous half-open jars littering the floor around her bed and the pile of books accumulating at the foot. His eyes widened briefly before they narrowed. "…Oh."

She sighed. "What is it, Gar?"

He shook his head. "Nothing; you're busy…"

She reached out with both hands and caught his head, forced him to look at her. "What is it?"

He averted his gaze. "I just wanted to know if…" He pulled away from her and backed up to the wall, still glancing downwards.

"Gar, if something's wrong with you…" Raven frowned as she moved from the center of the bed and dropped to the floor.

"No," Beast Boy shook his head again, holding up his hands. "No… I just wanted out of here."

"Garfield, it's late; everyone's worried about you being out at night as it is, and now you're asking me to sneak out with you? What are you –"

"I was gonna go… you know," he whispered.

The frown on her face relaxed.

"Gar..."

"I was just thinking… it would be nice if you would come with me again." He shook his head again and forced his hands into his pockets. "I know; stupid." He turned to leave, but Raven grabbed his arm.

"Give me a minute."


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Any of the characters you recognize, I don't own. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this for free. I'm not as dumb as I look, trust me.

And stop writing this? Not take it seriously? Perish the thought::piles of composition notebooks behind her fall in what would be a very interesting cascade if the authoress weren't trapped under them:

… I have a feeling I'm about to make some people very upset… :sweatdrop:

**

* * *

Tale

* * *

**

He knows their routine better than any of them, rightfully should. It would be a disgrace to his dad's name if he didn't. It had required him to take an extensive review of every 'woulda, shoulda, coulda' that wrote the stories of their lives to begin understanding the rationale, reasoning, and rhyme's meter they followed. Admittedly, it had taken him a while longer than he would have liked to admit (_would_ ever admit) to put it all together, but the point was that he _had_.

His eyes were the first open, his feet the first to hit the roof, with (rarely) or without (more commonly) his mind's knowledge. His feet carried him to the same place, and his body sank to the same spot of the cold roof in the early morning. His prayer carried his plea for forgiveness foremost, his concern for both his atypical fathers and family falling after easily.

(Alfred had been the first to discover the then newfound 'habit' when he caught him attempting to sneak back into the manor from the lawn at 3:00 in the morning, shivering through his pajamas and hastily grabbed robe, had been the first to encourage it, though not necessarily under the same conditions.)

Cyborg was always the next to stumble his way to the top of the tower and emerge against the chill atmosphere. He never acknowledged him, never even turned around, didn't have to because he knew who it was. He would end up kneeling, eyes closed as tightly as his own. Cyborg asked for forgiveness, but then they all did because just their day to day gave life to things they could do nothing but carry out and seek atonement for when the last of it had been put to rest for the day; the strength Victor used to rise in the morning and move through the day and do his job was asked for after respect was given for his parents.

They welcomed the dawn together, Starfire with her silent prayer in first her tongue, then theirs joining Cyborg on the eastern edge, he and Beast Boy with only their shared amnesty pleas on the western, and Raven between them.

Robin knew their routine better than any of them because he'd taken the time to watch them, picked up the puzzle pieces they sometimes dropped and figured out how they fit together.

(If Cyborg's movements were too deliberate during a battle, Starfire watched them too closely even after checking their injuries then and there afterward, Beast Boy gazed after the world outside the window a little too intently on the ride home, or Raven went out of her way to avoid physical contact once they were home, he didn't give any indication that he'd noticed.)

Then he'd taken in the completed pictures without laying that which he wouldn't have displayed of himself.

(If sometimes in the morning, he stayed on the roof with them those few extra moments they felt they owed, had attacked a little too quickly and a little too hard in the fight the previous day, then he didn't acknowledge it or the stray glances he'd be spared until the next fight when the cycle would repeat itself.)

They never recognized each other, as an unwritten understanding. Until they sat around the breakfast table, they'd never stepped foot from their bed, had still been dreaming as peacefully as could be expected of them until they'd awakened and picked up the task of cooking their meal or been gently roused by the aroma of it, and they'd all communed and said their good-mornings.

He knew their routine, from their rise in the morning with as much normalcy as they could tolerate without finding themselves abhorrent to falling gratefully dead in their beds after they'd finally exhausted themselves so thoroughly over the course of the day that they didn't have the energy to care and live at the same time. He knew better than any of them.

It was Raven who first noticed Cyborg hadn't even made it to the table that morning.

* * *

"Any news yet?" Robin questioned as Starfire floated quickly toward the sofa he sat on.

"No." Starfire shook her head sadly. "I don't understand; he's never done something like this before."

Robin's scowl deepened. "I know." Sighing, he quickly rose, moving to the semi-circle of terminals and selecting his workstation. He pulled up the radar display of the active trackers. A few moments of swift typing brought the screen up on the large window panel before them.

Four red dots on-screen blinked methodically in a tight cluster labeled with the coordinates of the common area.

Robin typed in a few commands, and the area enlarged to include all of Jump City. Cyborg's symbolic little red dot remained mysteriously absent. Robin spun around in his chair. "Raven, did he take his car?"

Raven nodded, but didn't speak.

Robin sighed dejectedly, glaring at the floor in frustration. "Great. So he can be anywhere, now."

"What about the Titans East?" Beast Boy questioned quietly.

"…I don't know." Robin turned back to the computer, and quickly activated the link between their tower and the one in Steel City. The screen buzzed, snow dancing over it as it often did when it first established a link, but after a moment's time, the communication system failed to make a connection and the screen remained a blanket of gray. Starfire felt her heart sink as Robin disconnected.

"Maybe they're preoccupied with something else?" Starfire attempted in answer to the unspoken question.

Robin shook his head forcefully. "No; even if they weren't there, the system would have automatically connected us to Bumblebee, just like theirs would have connected them to me. Speedy, Cyborg, and I revamped the systems both of our towers now operate on together; we would have gotten through to at least one of the Titans members, and there's no reason whatsoever I shouldn't have been able to get Cyborg. The only possible explanation is the system's off-line. And if they didn't take it off-line themselves, then that means we have a problem. They wouldn't just take the system off-line; period."

"… What if Cyborg _was _with the Titans, and they _did_ encounter trouble?" Starfire's voice trembled.

"Or maybe we can't find Cy because he doesn't want to be found," Beast Boy muttered. Robin scowled defiantly and returned to his keyboard. The tracking area enlarged.

"There!" Starfire pointed frantically toward the blinking red dot beside which 'Cyborg' was neatly scrawled. "But how do we get there?"

"The T- ship is overkill. Even using one of my cars, we'd have to get to my place first, and I don't want unnecessary attention higher up. Starfire and Raven could go alone, but …" Robin mused aloud. "Raven, do you think you can take all of us –"

"Don't."

Robin paused mid-sentence. "What?"

Raven's wide-eyed gaze was still frozen to the screen. "We can't follow it. We shouldn't."

"You mean you _don't_ want us to try and find him?" Robin's eyes narrowed in question.

Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably in the silence before he stood. He stalked around the couch and to the exit. "I'm going out."

"Where are you –"

"I said out," Beast Boy cut Robin off sharply. "I'll be back. I just need to think." He kept his back turned as he stepped out of sight.

Robin watched in confusion as Raven quickly followed. Robin stared as she disappeared from sight after him.

The alarms abruptly went off, the common area glowing red as the screen contained in the window panel blinked back to life unauthorized. An earsplitting beep accompanied the rapidly blinking red dot that appeared on screen.

"That's not Cyborg," Robin groaned as another window appeared in the top right corner. "Let's roll," he muttered, sliding from the chair and picking up his bo-staff from the table as he sprinted toward the exit. He halted as Starfire appeared before him.

"Robin, we've no idea what's happened to Cyborg or the other Titans, and now Beast Boy and Raven –what if whatever happened to the others –"

"_We don't need them!_" Robin snapped, scowl distorting his features. He exhaled sharply as he watched the expression on her face change to utter fear.

"…That's not what I meant. You know that's not what I meant. Look… Cinderblock is a small problem, but he can create big ones. We'll find them; we'll find out what happened to them." His voice softer, he soothed, "I promise. They're our friends."

* * *

Midnight black against the blue-gray sky, the large bird silently sailed over the buildings to the square's empty park as the rain threatened again to fall with a warning clap of thunder that rolled over the city. The bird dived for the park, wings tucked into its sides, and it suddenly and inexplicably disappeared into what appeared to be the solid ground. Wings still firmly pressed against its body as it soared through the tunnel that led from the nearly invisible hole along the surface, the passage narrowed and the black bird pressing gently against the rocky sides before it widened again as it reached the small canyon beyond. It soared near the stalactites before landing gracefully and fading away.

Beast Boy, frozen, appeared in its place, Raven behind him as her eyes lost the black glow and returned to their natural violet color.

The air echoed silently around the cavern.

"What if it doesn't work this time, either?" Raven was already approaching the statue-like figure at the center of the cavern.

"… We go from there." Raven kneeled before the statue, reaching inside her cloak. She pulled from it three small vials.

"All I wanted was a chance to think; like usual, you know?" Beast Boy chuckled and quietly came to rest beside Raven, reaching across her to remove the already wilting tulips from Terra's feet.

Raven carefully sat the three vials before her, opening the first carefully. The thick liquid within moved like gelatin as the vial was tilted; she held the vial in her left hand, carefully trailing a thin streak of the dark green substance along her first two fingers of her right hand. Still kneeling, she placed her fingers to the ground before her, and drew a careful circle between themselves and Terra, replenishing her ink as she ran out.

Inside, she drew four careful characters, circling them in a smaller sphere. She replaced the vial near the other two. Raven looked expectantly to Beast Boy. Hesitantly, he grabbed the third vial and stood. The top rolled to the floor, making its way toward the fresh design on the floor before Raven quickly scooped it up. With a sheepish and apologetic smile, Beast Boy turned his back to her and retreated. Staring at the ground, he held the vial over the floor and gently tilted it upward.

A thin strand of bright red powder trailed from it to the floor as Beast Boy quickly enclosed both Raven and Terra. When the last of the powder had spilled from the vial, he didn't step back into the boundary of the circle he'd drawn, instead taking another step away and kneeling.

His desperate gaze met Raven's.

The last vial was opened, and Raven let the clear liquid pool around the characters she'd drawn, flowing to the boundary of the small sphere, the gelatin like substance from the first vial holding it back.

Beast Boy quickly closed his eyes. He heard, faintly, Raven chanting, and felt the hair along the back of his neck stand as he realized he couldn't distinguish in what language it was rolling off her tongue, was only sure that it wasn't English; wasn't _human_.

"Please let this work," he mumbled inaudibly, swallowing air around the lump in his throat and feeling his body tense painfully.

Raven placed her palms in the middle of the four characters she'd drawn, careful not to disturb the rune she'd created as she continued chanting, the liquid sliding under her hands. The green flushed bright white as the floor around her began to glow, the light running to the boundary of the enclosure. It traveled up Terra's body, encasing it in the same glow that radiated blindingly around Raven.

Beast Boy felt himself struggling against the annoyingly persistent sensation that his body was falling apart as he squinted against the light.

_It had to work this time; it _had_ to…_

He tumbled backwards, his feet flying from under him as the light increased suddenly, and he held up his hands in a shield against the violent red radiance. His feet grew damp, and he peeked through his fingers just enough to see the clear liquid turning red as it rushed to the ends of the cavern in torrents.

His flesh screamed as the liquid touched it, and his body was suddenly alight with pain, but he couldn't find his voice to scream. He tried to breathe. He fought for air, but he was drowning in the empty cavern.

Everything went black, and he was blinking, sightlessly.

Rapidly, he blinked again, finally opening his eyes to the familiar sight of the cavern, all traces of whatever had just happened vanished. He watched Raven sway on her knees for a moment before she fell to the floor.

"_Raven!" _Beat Boy screamed, rushing to her. He turned her over, lifting her into his arms as he knelt. "Raven?" Wincing, she slowly opened her eyes and let them roam. She turned to her left, closing them again as her body tensed in frustration. She pulled from his arms at length, but stayed at his side as she stared at Terra.

"Now what?"

"We try again," she answered. "My books are useless, as is everything I know. I guess the only thing now is to attempt journeying back to Azarath and seeing what I can find in the Records…" She rested one hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry; we're not giving up. We'll find a way. No matter what we have to do, ok?"

He shivered at the last phrase as he remembered the sound of her voice moments before. "…You wouldn't use his power,would you?"

Raven didn't move as she replied, "We'd both let her die first."

"You're hurting yourself," was out of his mouth before he'd realized it. "Whatever you're doing… it's too powerful. You can't control it."

Raven stared back at him defiantly. "You don't want me to stop trying."

"No," he said and frowned. "Yes. I mean…" He shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I can't ask you to keep doing this."

"It's my decision."

Beast Boy finally stood, extended his hand to help her up beside him. "… Thank you." Her head tilted downward in acknowledgement, and he turned to Terra, his mouth forming words that lacked the volume needed for them to carry farther than Terra's deaf ears. His hand rose gently to brush against Terra's stone cheek.

He'd expected the cool, rough surface of granite that had become familiar under his palms. His fingers were touching cold skin. The light still radiating around her brightened from an invisible glow to a soft, dull white. Eyes widening, Raven stared past the questioning glance she was spared, and hastily pulled her hand from his. Beast Boy placed his now free hand to the other side of Terra's face, cradling it as he felt her cold skin warm under his palms.

"What's happening?" he asked softly, but Raven didn't respond. His hands moved down to her waist; her clothes had been torn, and through the frayed lengths she still wore, he could fell the warmth of her stomach lighting down his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face into her searing hair. His skin heated, white hot nails digging into his skin until he was too warm, but he didn't let go. The glow encased him, and they became a blinding white that Raven protectively shielded her eyes against as its intensity grew.

"Garfield!" Raven's cry startled him, and he fell from the base, pulling Terra with him.

Raven caught him with a black structure, and he fell to his knees of his own accord, cradling Terra's warm body against his own. Beast Boy was wary as he embraced her, carefully scanning her body. Her lanky arms and legs were lankier than he recalled, her form thinner and her already torn clothes weren't enough to accommodate her. He sat in silence, and Raven stepped back from him respectively.

"Home," Beast Boy finally managed to tell Raven. "Let's go home."

Raven nodded and enshrouded the three of them in a black raven again that melted through the ceiling and disappeared from sight.

* * *

Even from a distance Starfire could distinctly make out that Robin was pissed. The two officers before him, though at least fifty good pounds heavier than Robin, cowered inwardly under his gaze, shrinking into themselves as he stared past them and to the transport vehicle Cinderblock was slowly being ushered into. He mumbled something she didn't think was actually directed to the two men, and they cringed as he reached for his utility belt and turned from them. As he approached her, Starfire made out the yellow plastic casing of their communicators tightly gripped between his gloved fingers. Reflexively, she turned away slightly as he got close enough for her to see the blood on the front of his uniform his left hand idly played over.

"Robin?"

"What aren't you telling me, Raven?"

Starfire flinched. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around her middle as she leaned back against the sturdier and slightly clean brick wall of the alley she'd waited in for the last few moments as Robin had tied up the last loose ends of their encounter.

"That's a long list, Robin. You're going to have to be more specific," the communicator in his grip bit back.

Robin took a deep breath as if centering himself, his enunciation as precise as his reply. "What aren't you telling me about Cyborg?"

There was an audible sigh on the other end. "He blocked his tracer. A few years ago."

"He what?"

"So we couldn't find him," Raven explained. "He didn't tell me how."

"And what we found back at the tower?"

"Decoy." Robin's brows creased. "Look… Cyborg wouldn't block his tracer just because he wants to be alone. It was never about that. It's… insurance."

"Insurance for what?" Robin scowled at the communicator, and Starfire was sure that Raven could have heard it even if she hadn't been able to see it.

"For our safety," she replied, her voice slowly rising from the deadpan she'd been using. "He said… if he gets into trouble that he can't get himself out of, he doesn't want us trying to come to the rescue."

"That's stupid."

"We all do stupid things, Robin."

He swallowed back a yell as he replied, "He's being selfish, pig-headed, and stubborn. Don't you get it? He's saying we can't take of ourselves; that he doesn't _trust us_ to take care of ourselves, even if his life depends on it."

"Sound familiar?" Raven asked calmly.

"He doesn't trust us, Raven!"

"That's not true. And I'm done having this conversation with you."

Robin stared dumfounded at the communicator as Raven's face, frozen with anger, disappeared from the screen.

"She's right."

Robin turned sharply in the direction of the whisper, gaze softening marginally as he finally registered that Starfire had been standing there the entire time. He cursed himself mentally.

"I'm sor –"

"Don't apologize to me." Green eyes rose to meet his, and Robin felt the adrenaline he'd been running on suddenly drain from him, leaving him weak. "Don't apologize to me like I am a child, Robin. I don't need that anymore."

"Star –"

"Raven is right." Starfire hung her head. "He cares about us, Robin. You know he does. Sometimes, we're blinded because of our feelings, and we do stupid things."

"I … know," Robin sighed.

"Yes. You do. He made a mistake. You know what that's like." No question was added afterward, and Robin turned from her gaze without verbalizing the unneeded answer. Starfire pushed herself from the wall and moved to stand before him.

"Take off your shirt."

Obediently, he reached down to the divide under his belt between pants and shirt and looped his fingers under the hem. He pulled, flinching as the material scraped over his chest. Slender fingers wrapped around his hands, and his shirt was maneuvered the rest of the way off without discomfort.

As it slipped over his head, he looked up to watch her face and lifted his hand to brush what he thought was a tear away from her cheek in one swift movement, only to have another raindrop hit his own shoulder. Gently, but firmly, she led him under the cover of a tattered green canopy, overhanging a broken door in the side of the brick wall, and pushed him to his cycle's seat.

"Not here," he said before a look from Starfire told him to close his mouth. Thunder rolled in the distance threateningly as Robin sat frozen under Starfire's skilled hands, wiping away the blood and the dirt in timeless moments. Robin stared at the little bit of sky that peeked in between the top of the next building over and the canopy impatiently.

The bandage was refused as he replaced his shirt and pulled her down behind him on the seat. Once she'd secured her helmet, she leaned into his back, wrapping her arms around his middle and squeezing him gently in an ok, and the cycle beneath them roared to life.


End file.
